Poor Quality
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 415
Likes: 0
From: Nokomis Florida
Poor Quality
Hello all,
Glad to be back after awhile. I have to get something off my chest concerning quality. I have owned 4 Vettes. 2 matching number 67 big blocks, a 68 matching number big block, and now a 2004. I am so disappointed in the quality of the 04. Cheap seats, cheap emblems, and cheap cheap shifter cables as examples. The 04 has 8000 miles on it and the shifter cable fell apart and now the rear deck emblem is cracking. The car is garage kept , never seen rain , etc. My prior cars all has metal emblems and the leather seats were pretty good. What the heck is going on at GM ? Are the newer models any better ? Thanks for listening.
Best,
JC
Glad to be back after awhile. I have to get something off my chest concerning quality. I have owned 4 Vettes. 2 matching number 67 big blocks, a 68 matching number big block, and now a 2004. I am so disappointed in the quality of the 04. Cheap seats, cheap emblems, and cheap cheap shifter cables as examples. The 04 has 8000 miles on it and the shifter cable fell apart and now the rear deck emblem is cracking. The car is garage kept , never seen rain , etc. My prior cars all has metal emblems and the leather seats were pretty good. What the heck is going on at GM ? Are the newer models any better ? Thanks for listening.
Best,
JC
Popular Reply
Jan 30, 2020, 04:42 PM
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 21,325
Likes: 3,840
From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
AS a Gm engineer I can tell you the C5 is head and shoulders above any c2 or C3... the drive train was primitive and designed to last 60,000 miles.. at least that was the certification standard back then... The C5 LSX motor was certified to 200,000 miles...they also were lucky to get 15 mpg. The C5 gets 28 to 30... Body panels used fiberglass fibers and gel coat. the C2 were loaded with stress cracks, ( because of too much gel coat ) ( 60% gel coat 40 % fibers ) much like peanut brittle ...after a few years... the C3 were better
( 60% fibers 40 % gel... more flexable with less stress cracking) ( but they are poor quality compared to SMC. C5 are seeing 300K and 400 K miles… there is even one with the original unmolested engine at the museum with 775,000
Dave put a larger percentage of the budget into the revolutionary. Drive train... the plastic parts are all less than 1:1 specific gravity.. meaning they are light enough to float... in a specific gravity test panel...Hydroformed Chassis,,400% stronger than a C4... No more open the doors to lift the car. there is so much flex in a C2 and C3, the bodies did not survive the flex. bodies were seamed together... Lots of LSX motors being built to 700 and 800 Hp without issue... there is nothing better about a C2 or C3 when it comes to design. If all the plastic was metal you could not afford the car. and it would not pass the gas guzzler tax which was a primary motivator in designing the C5. Make it lighter and make it with in budget were the two daily design stimulators, by Dave Hill. A C3 is like an 8 track tape player, compared to C5 where streaming audio and video.is the norm.
Just insight from and insider to Corvette design...
Bill
( 60% fibers 40 % gel... more flexable with less stress cracking) ( but they are poor quality compared to SMC. C5 are seeing 300K and 400 K miles… there is even one with the original unmolested engine at the museum with 775,000
Dave put a larger percentage of the budget into the revolutionary. Drive train... the plastic parts are all less than 1:1 specific gravity.. meaning they are light enough to float... in a specific gravity test panel...Hydroformed Chassis,,400% stronger than a C4... No more open the doors to lift the car. there is so much flex in a C2 and C3, the bodies did not survive the flex. bodies were seamed together... Lots of LSX motors being built to 700 and 800 Hp without issue... there is nothing better about a C2 or C3 when it comes to design. If all the plastic was metal you could not afford the car. and it would not pass the gas guzzler tax which was a primary motivator in designing the C5. Make it lighter and make it with in budget were the two daily design stimulators, by Dave Hill. A C3 is like an 8 track tape player, compared to C5 where streaming audio and video.is the norm.
Just insight from and insider to Corvette design...
Bill
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 11,836
Likes: 1,330
From: Middletown, DE
Hello all,
Glad to be back after awhile. I have to get something off my chest concerning quality. I have owned 4 Vettes. 2 matching number 67 big blocks, a 68 matching number big block, and now a 2004. I am so disappointed in the quality of the 04. Cheap seats, cheap emblems, and cheap cheap shifter cables as examples. The 04 has 8000 miles on it and the shifter cable fell apart and now the rear deck emblem is cracking. The car is garage kept , never seen rain , etc. My prior cars all has metal emblems and the leather seats were pretty good. What the heck is going on at GM ? Are the newer models any better ? Thanks for listening.
Best,
JC
Glad to be back after awhile. I have to get something off my chest concerning quality. I have owned 4 Vettes. 2 matching number 67 big blocks, a 68 matching number big block, and now a 2004. I am so disappointed in the quality of the 04. Cheap seats, cheap emblems, and cheap cheap shifter cables as examples. The 04 has 8000 miles on it and the shifter cable fell apart and now the rear deck emblem is cracking. The car is garage kept , never seen rain , etc. My prior cars all has metal emblems and the leather seats were pretty good. What the heck is going on at GM ? Are the newer models any better ? Thanks for listening.
Best,
JC
As I remember, cars of the 60’s were far likelier to fall apart than my C5’s and C6’s were...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 3,274
Likes: 1,094
From: Pittsburgh PA
Hello all,
Glad to be back after awhile. I have to get something off my chest concerning quality. I have owned 4 Vettes. 2 matching number 67 big blocks, a 68 matching number big block, and now a 2004. I am so disappointed in the quality of the 04. Cheap seats, cheap emblems, and cheap cheap shifter cables as examples. The 04 has 8000 miles on it and the shifter cable fell apart and now the rear deck emblem is cracking. The car is garage kept , never seen rain , etc. My prior cars all has metal emblems and the leather seats were pretty good. What the heck is going on at GM ? Are the newer models any better ? Thanks for listening.
Best,
JC
Glad to be back after awhile. I have to get something off my chest concerning quality. I have owned 4 Vettes. 2 matching number 67 big blocks, a 68 matching number big block, and now a 2004. I am so disappointed in the quality of the 04. Cheap seats, cheap emblems, and cheap cheap shifter cables as examples. The 04 has 8000 miles on it and the shifter cable fell apart and now the rear deck emblem is cracking. The car is garage kept , never seen rain , etc. My prior cars all has metal emblems and the leather seats were pretty good. What the heck is going on at GM ? Are the newer models any better ? Thanks for listening.
Best,
JC
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 415
Likes: 0
From: Nokomis Florida
I am the second owner of the C5. Better maintained ? That is not the case
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 9,285
Likes: 1,515
From: Oviedo Florida
2024 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2024 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2023 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2021 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2016 C5 of Year Finalist
We are talking about a mass produced automobile.
Corvettes have always had production problems.
Quality is not certain when buying vettes or other
cars. Most cars try to reach a certain level of quality
but it can be hit or miss after the warranity stops.
When the part is built GM knows the failure time.
approx... No... old vettes were not built better than
the newer ones.
Corvettes have always had production problems.
Quality is not certain when buying vettes or other
cars. Most cars try to reach a certain level of quality
but it can be hit or miss after the warranity stops.
When the part is built GM knows the failure time.
approx... No... old vettes were not built better than
the newer ones.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 8,900
Likes: 1,074
From: Wisconsin
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 415
Likes: 0
From: Nokomis Florida
Yes the C5 handles and drives nicely although lacking in quality. In addition to the emblems I had to replace the shifter cable due to the plastic ends disintegrating. Plastic ? Why not aluminum ends that last ? Pointing back to my Lexus the shifter cable is heavy braided cable with metal ends.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 238
Likes: 84
From: Mechanicsville Va
Only 8k miles on it and 16 years old maybe it is just grumpy because it was never driven. My 98 is 6 years older none of those problems has 68k on it and just likes to drink a bit of gas, and is a lot more fun to drive than any of my C2s.
Plastic ends were so much lighter just imagine the HP loss with metal ends.
Plastic ends were so much lighter just imagine the HP loss with metal ends.
Last edited by TinkersVet; Jan 30, 2020 at 03:30 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,618
Likes: 241
From: Russell Ontario
St. Jude Donor '09
Well I have a 70 Vette and a 2004, no issues with ether of them , both easy to work on, my earlier 1980 was a nightmare to work on,engine wise , but build quality on all was really good. No complaints.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 6,480
Likes: 555
All of the cars from the big 3 in the mid 70s to well into the 80s, and even the 90s were very poorly built. The Vette was no exception. The C5 is leaps and bounds better quality wise than those C3s. The '68-'72 C3s weren't bad, but after that they were pretty bad...
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 9,285
Likes: 1,515
From: Oviedo Florida
2024 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2024 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2023 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2021 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2016 C5 of Year Finalist
Your emblems last longer but your engine won't.
Your not going to get a 100k miles out of your spark plugs.
I heard the same argument when I was a kid. The metal
is thicker.....which it was . But you had to spend a afternoon
with maintance on your car so it would run a month.
Metalurgy is much better now and it shows in longevity
of the engine and metal componets.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 168
Likes: 88
From: Northwest Nevada
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 9,285
Likes: 1,515
From: Oviedo Florida
2024 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2024 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2023 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2021 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2016 C5 of Year Finalist
Yes the C5 handles and drives nicely although lacking in quality. In addition to the emblems I had to replace the shifter cable due to the plastic ends disintegrating. Plastic ? Why not aluminum ends that last ? Pointing back to my Lexus the shifter cable is heavy braided cable with metal ends.
you would have metal ends)